Paneer Makhani

For the first recipe of the year, I'm charging forward into the uncharted territory of north Indian cuisine. While I love Indian food, it's very far outside of my area of expertise (such as it is). When I eat at a great Indian restaurant, I'm amazed by the depth and complexity of the flavors that can only come from a mastery of the vast library of spices used on the subcontinent. As an amateur, it is difficult to match this, but it is certainly fun to play around with new flavors. I'm very happy with how this dish turned out, and would encourage anyone to give it a try.

Paneer makhani is a Punjabi style dish that combines Indian cheese with a rich tomato sauce. It is similar to the famous murgh makhani, also known as "butter chicken." Perhaps the most interesting component of the sauce is the addition of cashews, something I had never considered before. I enjoyed having the nuttiness in sauce, adding another layer to the flavors. As the name suggests, butter is also a big part of the sauce. It would be possible to replace at least some of the butter with oil and the cream with half and half to lighten it up if desired.

As I usually do with dishes I have never made before, I took to the internet to come up with a recipe. The recipes widely differed on the herbs and spices and even on the cream. I have done my best to come up with a version with the most consistently used ingredients, and it turned out great. I attempt to strike a balance between tradition and accessibility. As such, I generally avoid whole spices, which traditional Indian recipes start with. You can certainly go this route, however, and I'm sure the results will be even better.

The two exotic ingredients here are the paneer and fenugreek leaves. Paneer is a firm, mild cheese that is quite common in Indian cuisine, often compared with cottage cheese. I have been able to buy it frozen from an Asian store. It can also be made at home, but I have not tried this. From my research, I found that fenugreek leaves are very much a staple herb for Indian cooking. Despite this, they were hard to find. I went to two different Asian groceries, and couldn't find them. I finally got a hold of them at an Indian store. If buying fenugreek, keep in mind the box may use the Hindi name kasoori methi.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, diced
• 1/2 cup unsalted cashews (pieces are fine)
• 3 Tbs butter
• 2 tsp grated ginger
• 1 Tbs grated garlic (about 2 large cloves)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 Tbs fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi), see notes following recipe
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1 cup crushed tomato
• Approx. 1 cup water
• Salt to taste
• 400 g (14 oz) paneer
• 2 Tbs cream

Instructions

In a large saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cashews. Cook a few minutes and add ginger and garlic. Cook together a few more minutes. Add the bay leaves, fenugreek, garam masala, cardamom, and cinnamon. Stir in and cook down another minute.

Add the crushed tomato and about 1/2 cup water. Stir together, bring to a boil, and simmer for about 10 minutes. While the sauce is cooking, cut the paneer into small pieces, about 1/2 to 3/4 inch on a side. I cut my slab into 36 pieces.

Blend the sauce into a smooth mixture. Add more water as needed. It is easiest to use an immersion blender, but a regular blender or food processor could be used. Taste the sauce and add salt to taste. Add the paneer and stir to coat. Cook another five minutes, stirring as you go. The idea is just to get the paneer heated through. Before serving, stir in the cream. I served with steamed rice and baked chicken.

Notes

The amount of fenugreek leaves (1 Tbs) is in line with the recipes I found online typically use. When I made the dish, I misread my notes as 1 tsp, so I have not tested it with the intended amount. It still turned out very well, but I preserve the original proportions in the recipe.

The same basic sauce can be used to make the chicken version (murgh makhani). Marinate chicken in yogurt, lemon juice, and spices. Grill or bake the chicken, cut into small pieces, and add to the sauce in place of the paneer.